[en] Pulmonary artery coarctation is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by single or multiple stenoses of the pulmonary arteries and their branches. There are only a few reports describing the radiological film of this entity. In this paper we report the case of a 68 year-old woman who presented with dyspnea. The scintigraphic, examination of the lungs gave the misleading impression of pulmonary embolism, and only angiography and magnetic resonance imaging established the correct diagnosis of multiple coarctations of the pulmonary artery

[en] A switchable polarity solvent was synthesized from triethylamine (TEA)/water/CO_2 (Dry ice) via proton transfer reaction has been used for the microextraction of cadmium(II) as pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (APDC) chelate. Cd(II)-APDC chelate was extracted into the switchable polarity solvent drops by adding 2 mL 10 M sodium hydroxide solution. Analytical parameters affecting the complex formation and microextraction efficiency such as pH, amount of ligand, volume of switchable polarity solvent and NaOH, sample volume were optimized. The effects of foreign ions were found tolerably. Under optimum conditions, the detection limit was 0.16 μg L"−"1 (3Sb/m, n = 7) and the relative standard deviation was 5.4% (n = 7). The method was validated by the analysis of certified reference materials (TMDA-51.3 fortified water, TMDA-53.3 fortified water and SPS-WW2 waste water, 1573a Tomato Leaves and Oriental Basma Tobacco Leaves (INCT-OBTL-5)) and addition/recovery tests. The method was successfully applied to determination of cadmium contents of water, vegetable, fruit and cigarette samples. - Highlights: • Switchable polarity solvent was synthesized from triethylamine (TEA)/water/CO_2. • The switchable polarity solvent has been used for the microextraction of cadmium(II). • The important factors were optimized. • The method was applied to determination of cadmium in real samples

[en] We developed a selective solvothermal synthesis of palladium nanoparticles on nanodiamond (ND)–graphene oxide (GO) hybrid material in solution. After the GO and ND materials have been added in PdCl₂ solution, the spontaneous redox reaction between the ND–GO and PdCl₂ led to the creation of nanohybrid Pd@ND@GO material. The resulting Pd@ND@GO material was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and atomic absorption spectrometry methods. The Pd@ND@GO material has been used for the first time as a catalyst for the reduction for 2-nitrophenol and the degradation of methylene blue in the presence of NaBH₄. GO plays the role of 2D support material for Pd nanoparticles, while NDs act as a nanospacer for partly preventing the re-stacking of the GO. The Pd@ND@GO material can lead to high catalytic activity for the reduction reaction of 2-nitrophenol and degradation of methylene blue with 100% conversion within ~15 s for these two reactions even when the content of Pd in it is as low as 4.6 wt%.

[en] Carcinosarcomas are rare biphasic malignant neoplasms with epithelial and a spindle cell component. We present a 62-year-old man with a history of noticeably abdominal distension, proved by surgery to be caused by carcinosarcoma of the renal pelvis and urinary bladder, occupying the entire left abdominal flank. We also illustrate the appearance of this rare entity on sonography and computed tomography

[en] Objective: To evaluate the usefulness and reliability of helical computed tomography (CT) for patients with small bowel obstruction. Methods and material: Helical CT findings of 41 patients were evaluated prospectively on the basis of the presence and the cause of obstruction, and the presence of strangulation. Results: In the determination of the cause of the obstruction sensitivity and specificity of CT were 84 and 90%, respectively. Of the 19 patients undergoing surgery, 6 had strangulation and were correctly identified by CT. Conclusion: Helical CT is an accurate method in the detection of small bowel obstruction, especially for evaluating the cause and vascular complications of obstruction

[en] A flower-like Fe₃O₄/GO/CdSe nanodot magnetic hybrid material was produced and applied to magnetic solid-phase extraction of ibuprofen from pharmaceuticals, water, and urine samples. The material was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy and SEM-EDX. The pH value, volume of sample solution, amount of sorbent, type and volume of elution solvent and extraction time were optimized. Following elution with acetone, ibuprofen was quantified by HPLC-DAD detection. The recoveries of ibuprofen from spiked real samples ranged between 87 and 109%, and the intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviations from 1.25 to 3.02%. The limit of detection, limit of quantification and preconcentration factor are 0.36 ng·mL⁻¹,1.20 ng·mL⁻¹ and 150, respectively.

.

[en] Nanosized single crystal orthorhombic Bi₂WO₆ was synthesized by a hydrothermal method and used as a sorbent for vortex assisted solid phase extraction of lead(II). The crystal and molecular structure of the sorbent was examined using XRD, Raman, SEM and SEM-EDX analysis. Various parameters affecting extraction efficiency were optimized by using multivariate design. The effect of diverse ions on the extraction also was studied. Lead was quantified by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The recoveries of lead(II) from spiked samples (at a typical spiking level of 200–400 ng·mL⁻¹) are >95%. Other figures of merit includes (a) a detection limit of 6 ng·mL⁻¹, (b) a preconcentration factor of 50, (c) a relative standard deviation of 1.6%, and (d) and adsorption capacity of 6.6 mg·g⁻¹. The procedure was successfully applied to accurate determination of lead in (spiked) pomegranate and water samples. .

[en] Computational fluid dynamics simulations are used to obtain a radially symmetrical flow profile at an aperture of a microfluidic channel by manually arranging flow-directing obstacles around the aperture. For the first time, the flow profile is improved by calculating the coefficient of variation (CoV), which is applied to the flow velocity magnitude along coaxially arranged circles below the aperture in the microfluidic channel. A minimum CoV of 0.03 is obtained at the circle with the same diameter as the aperture. Channels with the optimized design are fabricated by lamination of two layers of dry film resist and patterned with UV-lithography. The aperture is formed by using an inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching process. Video recording of the flow behavior confirmed the simulation results experimentally. The proposed channel design and the optimization method can favorably be used for a balanced hydrodynamic trapping of particles or cells at apertures. (© 2023 The Authors. physica status solidi (a) applications and materials science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH)

[en] The authors describe the preparation of a nanocomposite (mag-MoS₂-Fe₃O₄) that was prepared from molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) and magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles by a hydrothermal method in an inert atmosphere. The composite is shown to be a viable magnetic adsorbent for dispersive solid phase microextraction of lead(II) and copper(II) ions from water and plant samples. The nanocomposite was characterized by FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, and BET methods. The factors affecting the extraction recovery of the analytes, including the pH value, type of dispersive solvent, sample volume, type and volume of eluent solution, and interfering ions, were optimized. Flame atomic absorption spectrometry was then used for quantitation. Figures of merit of this method include a preconcentration factor of 50 for lead(II) and 35 for Cu(II), LODs of 3.3 μg·L⁻¹ for lead(II) and of 1.8 μg·L⁻¹ for Cu(II), and RSDs of 4.9 and 1.5%, respectively. The method was used to preconcentrate the analytes from plant and water samples prior to their determination by FAAS. It was then validated by analyzing certified reference materials (water and plant), and this resulted in good accuracy. .

[en] In this study, Pd nanoparticle-modified magnetic Sm₂O₃–ZrO₂ material (Pd–Fe₃O₄–Sm₂O₃–ZrO₂) as multifunctional catalyst was fabricated and used for catalytic reduction of 2-nitrophenol compound, degradation of methylene blue and rhodamine B dyes, which are toxic pollutants. The magnetic material was used for the first time as a catalyst for the reduction and degradation studies. Pd nanoparticle-modified magnetic Sm₂O₃–ZrO₂ catalyst was prepared using the deposition–precipitation methods and were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic absorption spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy and BET surface analyzer. The Pd nanoparticle-modified magnetic Sm₂O₃–ZrO₂ material can lead to high catalytic activity for the reduction of 2-nitrophenol and degradation of rhodamine B and methylene blue with > 95% conversion within ~ 2 and 80 s even when the content of Pd in it is as low as 5.8 wt%.